Exterior building wall layers (e.g. siding, stucco and/or the like) may be installed to provide an aesthetic cover for an exterior of a building wall and to protect the building structure from precipitation, wind and other environmental effects. Some types of exterior building wall layers are typically applied in the form of panels, shingles or sheets of wood, vinyl, fibre cement, aluminum or other suitable materials, which may be arranged in horizontal rows that may overlap with one another. Other types of exterior building wall layers (e.g. stucco and/or the like) are typically applied by mounting a lath to the internal building wall layers and then troweling or otherwise applying the siding layer to the lath and the internal wall layers.
Moisture may occasionally penetrate the exterior layer(s) of a building wall and become trapped within the building wall. This problem is particularly common for buildings in wet climates. Moisture which remains in a building wall for extended periods may have deleterious effects for the building structure and its inhabitants. If moisture within a building wall does not evaporate or drain away, such moisture can result in mold growth which may negatively impact the health of people who use the building and/or rot and cause other forms of structural damage to the building structure. There is a general need for systems for building walls which can provide ventilation or which can otherwise permit moisture to escape from within a building wall.
The exterior walls of building structures (e.g. walls between the building and the outdoors) may also include insulation layer(s). Insulation reduces the rate of heat dissipation through the building wall (e.g. from an interior of the building wall to an exterior of the building wall or vice versa). Unwanted heat loss or gain through building walls can increase the energy demands of heating and cooling systems and can also create undesirable dew points in areas of the building which may in turn lead to condensation, mold and/or structural damage. There is a general need to provide insulation in exterior building walls.